Young Folks Treasury, Volume 3 (of 12) eBook

One day the Prince asked him what he was yawning for,
and Satiety answered:

“Because I have nothing to do, and nothing to
wish for, my Prince.”

“I suppose that is the reason why I yawn too,”
replied the Prince.

“Rather is it having me always with you,".answered
Satiety.

“Then get away and leave me,” said the
Prince.

“I cannot do that,” answered Satiety.
“You can go from me, but I cannot go from you;
I can never leave you as long as you remain in the
palace of Prosperity.”

“Then I will have you turned out,” said
the Prince.

“No one can do that,” said Satiety, “but
Misfortune, and he is a very capricious person.
Though he is a very disagreeable monster, some people
seem to court him, but cannot get him to come near
them; while to a great many he comes unawares, and
catches them, though they fly from him eagerly.
I tell you, Prince, you can go from me, but I cannot
go from you as long as you remain in the palace of
Prosperity.”

That night, when he went to his soft bed, the Prince
thought very much as to the conversation he had held
with Satiety, and he resolved to go out of the palace
for a time, just to get rid of the ugly little gray,
yawning dwarf.

The very resolution seemed to do him good, and he
slept better that night after he had made it than
he had done for many a night before.

II

The next morning when he rose he felt quite refreshed,
and he said to a groom: “Bring me my stout
horse, Expedition; I am going out to take a ride all
alone.”

The groom answered not a word, for in that palace
every one obeyed the Prince at once, and nobody troubled
him but the ugly little dwarf, Satiety. As he
went away, however, the groom said to himself with
a sigh: “It is a sad thing to be in the
wide world all alone. My Prince does not know
what it is. But let him try; it may be better
for him.”

He accordingly brought the horse to the palace-door.
But when the Prince came down he felt quite well,
and, looking about among all his attendants, he could
only catch a distant glimpse of Satiety standing yawning
behind. For a minute he was half inclined not
to go, for he did not mind seeing Satiety at a distance
if he did not come near. But the groom, whose
name was Resolution, seeing him hesitate, said:
“You had better go, my Prince, as you determined;
it may do you good.” And a chamberlain
called Effort helped him on his horse.

At first, as the Prince rode along, everything was
quite delightful to him. He seemed to breathe
more freely now that he was no more troubled with
Satiety. The flowers looked bright, and the sky
beautiful, for a cloud or two here and there only
gave variety. The very air seemed fresher than
it had been in the sheltered gardens of the palace,
and the Prince said to himself: “What a
delightful country this is, just on the verge of the
land of Prosperity.”